Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed May 14, 2026 (5/14/2026) has been entered into record. Claims 1-18, 29, and 31 are pending. Claims 1, 3, 6-9, 11, 16, 18 and 29 are amended. Claim 31 is newly added.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-18 and 29 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on the combination of references applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1-7, 9-10, 15-16, 18, and 29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Xu et al. (US 2024/0224176).
Regarding Claim 1, Xu teaches a user equipment (UE), comprising: one or more antennas; (Fig. 11, Par. [0033] “According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, UE 103 and/or UE 106 may include a portable wireless communication device, a smart phone, a cellular telephone, a flip phone, a device having a subscriber identity module, a personal computer, a selective call receiver, or any other device capable of transmitting and receiving communication signals on a wireless network” and Par. [0166] “As shown in FIG. 11, the apparatus 1100 may include at least one processor 1104 and at least one transceiver 1102 coupled to the processor 1104. The apparatus 1100 may be a UE or a network device”),
a processing system that includes at least one processor and at least one memory that stores code for the at least one processor, the processing system configured to cause the UE to: (Fig. 11, Par. [0167] “Although in this figure, elements such as the at least one transceiver 1102 and processor 1104 are described in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless a limitation to the singular is explicitly stated… In some embodiments of the present application, the apparatus 1100 may further include an input device, a memory, and/or other components”),
perform a public land mobile network (PLMN) scan according to in accordance with a first schedule when a preferred PLMN of the UE is associated with discontinuous coverage (DC); (Fig. 3, Par. [0041] “For example, if configured appropriately, a UE may enter a PSM (e.g., when timer T3324 expires as shown in FIG. 3) when there is no network coverage (e.g., time instance T1 in time domain as shown in FIG. 3) to avoid unnecessary cell searching or measurement” and Par. [0042] “A no-coverage window of a network may also be named as “a network no-coverage”, “a coverage interruption of a network”, “a network coverage interruption”, “a network coverage interruption duration”, “a network coverage interruption window”, or the like”),
and perform the PLMN scan according to in accordance with a second schedule when the preferred PLMN of the UE is not associated with the DC (Fig. 3, Par. [0041] “the UE may leave the PSM (e.g., when timer T3412 expires as shown in FIG. 3) in time when the network coverage restores (e.g., time instance T2 in time domain as shown in FIG. 3) for possible data reception”).
Regarding Claim 2, Xu teaches the invention of Claim 1, further teaching wherein the preferred PLMN is at least one of: a home PLMN (HPLMN); a PLMN having a higher priority than a current PLMN serving the UE; or the current PLMN serving the UE (Par. [0037] “a UE may adopt a PSM for reducing its power consumption. A PSM is similar to power-off, but a UE remains registered with the network and there is no need to re-attach or re-establish packet data network (PDN) connections”).
Regarding Claim 3, Xu teaches the invention of Claim 1, further teaching wherein the at least one memory is configured to store an indication of whether the preferred PLMN is associated with the DC, and the processing system to cause the UE to: access the indication from a subscriber identity module (SIM) configured to store the indication; or receive the indication from the preferred PLMN (Fig. 2A, Fig. 3, Par. [0034] “FIG. 2A illustrates a schematic diagram illustrating an Attach procedure according to 3GPP standard document TS23.401… In step 204, BS 220 transmits a RRC Connection Reconfiguration message or a RRC Direct Transfer message to UE 210” and Par. [0041] “if configured appropriately, a UE may enter a PSM (e.g., when timer T3324 expires as shown in FIG. 3) when there is no network coverage” and Par. [0042] “time values determining the PSM duration can only be configured in an Attach procedure (e.g., as shown in the embodiments of FIG. 2A)” and Par. [0053] “Timer 1 (e.g., CoverageInterruptionTimer) may be configured by the UE, a RAN device in the network, and/or a CN device in the network”).
Regarding Claim 4, Xu teaches the invention of Claim 3, further teaching wherein the indication comprises ephemeris for one or more satellites associated with the preferred PLMN (Par. [0054] “In some embodiments, Timer 1 is associated with a location of the UE, a velocity of the UE, and/or coverage information received from the network. For example, the coverage information received from the network may include: a satellite ephemeris; and/or time duration of a coverage validity of the network”).
Regarding Claim 5, Xu teaches the invention of Claim 3, further teaching wherein the indication is received in a System Information Block (SIB) broadcast or in a Non-Access Stratum (NAS) Message (Par. [0053] “In some embodiments, if Timer 1 is configured by a RAN device, the UE receives RRC signaling, a broadcast message, and/or a multicast message from the RAN device. In some other embodiments, if Timer 1 is configured by a CN device, the UE receives non access stratum (NAS) signaling from the CN device”).
Regarding Claim 6, Xu teaches the invention of Claim 1, further teaching wherein whether the preferred PLMN is associated with the DC is based on a mode of operation of the UE (Par. [0005] “The method includes: determining a time; and entering a power saving mode (PSM) of the UE at the determined time” and Par. [0041] “a UE may enter a PSM (e.g., when timer T3324 expires as shown in FIG. 3) when there is no network coverage (e.g., time instance T1 in time domain as shown in FIG. 3) to avoid unnecessary cell searching or measurement”).
Regarding Claim 7, Xu teaches the invention of Claim 1, further teaching wherein the first schedule is based on at least one of: an expected coverage period when the UE is expected to be in coverage of the preferred PLMN; or an expected coverage gap period when the UE is expected to not be in the coverage of the preferred PLMN (Par. [0041] “a UE may enter a PSM (e.g., when timer T3324 expires as shown in FIG. 3) when there is no network coverage (e.g., time instance T1 in time domain as shown in FIG. 3) to avoid unnecessary cell searching or measurement, and/or the UE may leave the PSM (e.g., when timer T3412 expires as shown in FIG. 3) in time when the network coverage restores (e.g., time instance T2 in time domain as shown in FIG. 3) for possible data reception”).
Regarding Claim 9, Xu teaches the invention of Claim 7, further teaching the processing system is further configured to cause the UE to: determine the at least one of the expected coverage period or the expected coverage gap period based on information signaled by the preferred PLMN (Par. [0037] “A UE can request a use of a PSM during an Attach procedure or a TAU procedure, and a network may accept the use of the PSM by providing an Active Time value for timer T3324 and/or a periodic TAU/RAU value for timer T3412” and Par. [0041] “if configured appropriately, a UE may enter a PSM (e.g., when timer T3324 expires as shown in FIG. 3) when there is no network coverage (e.g., time instance T1 in time domain as shown in FIG. 3) to avoid unnecessary cell searching or measurement, and/or the UE may leave the PSM (e.g., when timer T3412 expires as shown in FIG. 3) in time when the network coverage restores (e.g., time instance T2 in time domain as shown in FIG. 3) for possible data reception”)
Regarding Claim 10, Xu teaches the invention of Claim 9, further teaching wherein the information signaled by the preferred PLMN comprises ephemeris of one or more satellites associated with the preferred PLMN (Par. [0054] “In some embodiments, Timer 1 is associated with a location of the UE, a velocity of the UE, and/or coverage information received from the network. For example, the coverage information received from the network may include: a satellite ephemeris; and/or time duration of a coverage validity of the network”)
Regarding Claim 15, Xu teaches the invention of Claim 7, further teaching wherein the first schedule indicates to delay the PLMN scan until the UE is expected to be in coverage of the preferred PLMN based on the at least one of the expected coverage period or the expected coverage gap period (Par. [0041] “if configured appropriately, a UE may enter a PSM (e.g., when timer T3324 expires as shown in FIG. 3) when there is no network coverage (e.g., time instance T1 in time domain as shown in FIG. 3) to avoid unnecessary cell searching or measurement, and/or the UE may leave the PSM (e.g., when timer T3412 expires as shown in FIG. 3) in time when the network coverage restores (e.g., time instance T2 in time domain as shown in FIG. 3) for possible data reception”).
Regarding Claim 16, Xu teaches the invention of Claim 7, further teaching wherein whether the preferred PLMN is associated with the DC is based on whether the at least one of the expected coverage period or the expected coverage gap period is configured at the UE for the preferred PLMN (Par. [0041] “if configured appropriately, a UE may enter a PSM (e.g., when timer T3324 expires as shown in FIG. 3) when there is no network coverage (e.g., time instance T1 in time domain as shown in FIG. 3) to avoid unnecessary cell searching or measurement, and/or the UE may leave the PSM (e.g., when timer T3412 expires as shown in FIG. 3) in time when the network coverage restores (e.g., time instance T2 in time domain as shown in FIG. 3) for possible data reception”).
Regarding Claim 18, Xu teaches a method for wireless communications by a user equipment (UE), comprising: performing a public land mobile network (PLMN) scan in accordance with a first schedule when a preferred PLMN of the UE is associated with discontinuous coverage (DC); (Fig. 3, Par. [0041] “For example, if configured appropriately, a UE may enter a PSM (e.g., when timer T3324 expires as shown in FIG. 3) when there is no network coverage (e.g., time instance T1 in time domain as shown in FIG. 3) to avoid unnecessary cell searching or measurement” and Par. [0042] “A no-coverage window of a network may also be named as “a network no-coverage”, “a coverage interruption of a network”, “a network coverage interruption”, “a network coverage interruption duration”, “a network coverage interruption window”, or the like”),
and performing the PLMN scan in accordance with a second schedule when the preferred PLMN of the UE is not associated with the DC (Fig. 3, Par. [0041] “the UE may leave the PSM (e.g., when timer T3412 expires as shown in FIG. 3) in time when the network coverage restores (e.g., time instance T2 in time domain as shown in FIG. 3) for possible data reception”).
Regarding Claim 29, Xu teaches a non-transitory computer readable medium storing code for scheduling of public land mobile network scanning, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to: (Fig. 11, Par. [0167] “Although in this figure, elements such as the at least one transceiver 1102 and processor 1104 are described in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless a limitation to the singular is explicitly stated… In some embodiments of the present application, the apparatus 1100 may further include an input device, a memory, and/or other components”),
perform a public land mobile network (PLMN) scan in accordance with a first schedule when a preferred PLMN of a user equipment (UE) is associated with discontinuous coverage (DC); (Fig. 3, Par. [0041] “For example, if configured appropriately, a UE may enter a PSM (e.g., when timer T3324 expires as shown in FIG. 3) when there is no network coverage (e.g., time instance T1 in time domain as shown in FIG. 3) to avoid unnecessary cell searching or measurement” and Par. [0042] “A no-coverage window of a network may also be named as “a network no-coverage”, “a coverage interruption of a network”, “a network coverage interruption”, “a network coverage interruption duration”, “a network coverage interruption window”, or the like”),
and perform the PLMN scan in accordance with a second schedule when the preferred PLMN of the UE is not associated with the DC (Fig. 3, Par. [0041] “the UE may leave the PSM (e.g., when timer T3412 expires as shown in FIG. 3) in time when the network coverage restores (e.g., time instance T2 in time domain as shown in FIG. 3) for possible data reception”).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu et al. (US 2024/0224176) in view of Lenovo, et al. (LENOVO, et al., "Considerations on Power Saving for Idle Mode in Discontinuous Coverage", 3GPP TSG RAN WG2 meeting #114 electronics, R2-2105821, 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), Mobile Competence Centre, 650, Route Des Lucioles, F-06921 Sophia-Antipolis Cedex, France, Vol. RAN WG2, No. Electronic, 20210519 - 20210527, 11 May 2021, XP052007298, 3 Pages) (hereinafter Lenovo et al.).
Regarding Claim 8, Xu teaches the invention of Claim 7, but does not teach wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the UE to: determine the at least one of the expected coverage period or the expected coverage gap period based on a previous registration by the UE with the preferred PLMN.
In the same field of endeavor, Lenovo teaches wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the UE to: determine the at least one of the expected coverage period or the expected coverage gap period based on a previous registration by the UE with the preferred PLMN (Pg. 2, Par. 2. Discussion, "To use relaxed monitoring it is also required that less than 24 hours have passed since measurements for cell reselection were last performed and the UE has performed intra-frequency or inter-frequency measurements for at least TSearchDelta after selecting or reselecting a new cell").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Lenovo’s previous measurements for cell reselection with Xu’s timers to better avoid unnecessary cell search or measurement in non-terrestrial networks.
Claims 11, 14, 17, and 31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu et al. (US 2024/0224176) in view of Matolia et al. (US 2022/0232464).
Regarding Claim 11, Xu teaches the invention of Claim 7, but does not teach wherein: the second schedule indicates to perform the PLMN scan periodically with a periodicity that conforms to a minimum search timer; and the first schedule indicates to perform the PLMN scan with a second periodicity that does not conform to the minimum search timer based on the at least one of the expected coverage period or the expected coverage gap period.
In the same field of endeavor, Matolia teaches wherein: the second schedule indicates to perform the PLMN scan periodically with a periodicity that conforms to a minimum search timer; (Par. [0117] “In some embodiments, a UE may modify its search timer behavior for different types of NTN access. For example, for the high priority PLMN (HPPLMN), the UE may maintain a normal (i.e., default) search timer periodicity”),
and the first schedule indicates to perform the PLMN scan with a second periodicity that does not conform to the minimum search timer based on the at least one of the expected coverage period or the expected coverage gap period (Par. [0117] “The UE may receive a scaling factor m(sat) that modifies the search timer periodicity for different types of NTNs. The scaling factor may be retrieved from the USIM of the UE or the UE's internal memory, or it may be received from a steering of roaming (SoR) container) provided by the HPLMN”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention of combine Matolia’s search timer periodicity modifications with Xu’s coverage interruption timers to increase the reliability and connectivity of UEs in non-terrestrial networks.
Regarding Claim 14, Xu teaches the invention of Claim 7, further teaching wherein: when the at least one of the expected coverage period or the expected coverage gap period is configured at the UE, the first schedule is based on at least one configured value for the at least one of the expected coverage period or the expected coverage gap period; (Par. [0041] “if configured appropriately, a UE may enter a PSM (e.g., when timer T3324 expires as shown in FIG. 3) when there is no network coverage (e.g., time instance T1 in time domain as shown in FIG. 3) to avoid unnecessary cell searching or measurement”)
Xu, however, does not teach when the at least one of the expected coverage period or the expected coverage gap period is not configured at the UE, the first schedule is based on at least one default value for the at least one of the expected coverage period or the expected coverage gap period.
In the same field of endeavor, Matolia teaches when the at least one of the expected coverage period or the expected coverage gap period is not configured at the UE, the first schedule is based on at least one default value for the at least one of the expected coverage period or the expected coverage gap period (Par. [0117] “For example, for the high priority PLMN (HPPLMN), the UE may maintain a normal (i.e., default) search timer periodicity”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Matolia’s default search timer periodicity with Xu’s coverage interruption timers to increase the reliability and connectivity of UEs in non-terrestrial networks.
Regarding Claim 17, Xu teaches the invention of Claim 1, but does not teach wherein the first schedule indicates to perform the PLMN scan more frequently than the second schedule
In the same field of endeavor, Matolia teaches wherein the first schedule indicates to perform the PLMN scan more frequently than the second schedule (Par. [0117] “For example, for the high priority PLMN (HPPLMN), the UE may maintain a normal (i.e., default) search timer periodicity. The UE may receive a scaling factor m(sat) that modifies the search timer periodicity for different types of NTNs. The scaling factor may be retrieved from the USIM of the UE or the UE's internal memory, or it may be received from a steering of roaming (SoR) container) provided by the HPLMN. In some embodiments, m(sat) is a 4-bit (or another number of bits) multiplier that specifies a factor from the set { 1/16, ⅛, ¼, ½, 0, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16} (or another set of values) with which to modify the PLMN search periodicity. The scaling factor may increase the search frequency for PLMNs corresponding to low earth orbit (LEO) satellites and high-altitude pseudo-satellites (HAPS)”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Matolia’s increased search frequency with Xu’s coverage interruption timers to increase the reliability and connectivity of UEs in non-terrestrial networks.
Regarding Claim 31, Xu teaches the invention of Claim 7, but does not teach wherein the first schedule is associated with a number of PLMN scans during an interval comprising the expected coverage period and the expected coverage gap period.
In the same field of endeavor, Matolia teaches wherein the first schedule is associated with a number of PLMN scans during an interval comprising the expected coverage period and the expected coverage gap period (Par. [0117] “For example, for the high priority PLMN (HPPLMN), the UE may maintain a normal (i.e., default) search timer periodicity. The UE may receive a scaling factor m(sat) that modifies the search timer periodicity for different types of NTNs. The scaling factor may be retrieved from the USIM of the UE or the UE's internal memory, or it may be received from a steering of roaming (SoR) container) provided by the HPLMN. In some embodiments, m(sat) is a 4-bit (or another number of bits) multiplier that specifies a factor from the set { 1/16, ⅛, ¼, ½, 0, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16} (or another set of values) with which to modify the PLMN search periodicity. The scaling factor may increase the search frequency for PLMNs corresponding to low earth orbit (LEO) satellites and high-altitude pseudo-satellites (HAPS)”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Matolia’s scaling factor and PLMN search periodicity with Xu’s coverage interruption timers to increase the reliability and connectivity of UEs in non-terrestrial networks.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu et al. (US 2024/0224176) in view of Matolia et al. (US 2022/0232464) in further view of Dharmadhikari (US 2021/0410025).
Regarding Claim 12, Xu in view of Matolia teaches the invention of Claim 11, but does not teach wherein the second periodicity is less than the minimum search timer.
In the same field of endeavor, Dharmadhikari teaches wherein the second periodicity is less than the minimum search timer (Par. [0019] “If the high priority PLMN identifier is present in the periodic measurement report, the UE selects the dynamically-triggered search timer value instead of the minimum periodic search timer value (or any other search timer values) to decide a length of a delay interval (e.g., the time from entering idle mode to initiating the handover search). The dynamically-triggered search timer value indicates an amount of time (e.g., between five and 30 seconds) that is less than an amount of time indicated by the minimum periodic search timer value (e.g., six minutes)”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Dharmadhikari’s search timer value with Matolia’s search timer modifications and Xu’s coverage interruption timers to reduce the power consumption in a UE.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu et al. (US 2024/0224176) in view of Matolia et al. (US 2022/0232464) in further view of Lenovo et al.
Regarding Claim 13, Xu in view of Matolia teaches the invention of Claim 11, but does not teach wherein the second periodicity is less than a minimum period of satellite visibility.
In the same field of endeavor, Lenovo teaches wherein the second periodicity is less than a minimum period of satellite visibility (Pg. 2 Par. 2. Discussion “other information including satellite service start/stop time that being discussed in NR NTN can also be considered” and “UE can be configured or indicated to disable cell search or measurement for cell selection/reselection at the beginning of coverage interruption”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Lenovo’s satellite service start and stop time with Matolia’s search timer modifications with Xu’s coverage interruption timers to better avoid unnecessary cell search or measurement in non-terrestrial networks.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Zhang et al. (CN 114071722) discloses “Optionally, the GAP periodic configuration information default value is static, namely default does not use dynamic GAP period” (Pg. 15).
Nishant et al. (US 2022/0150807) discloses “Further, the UE detects that the failure to connect the first set of frequencies present in the MRU frequency list. Based on the proposed methods, the UE performs the PLMN search for the RPLMN followed by HPLMN and other priority PLMNs” (Par. [0090]).
Chun et al. (US 2020/0084741) discloses “When registration cannot be achieved, different (discontinuous) PLMN search schemes may be used in order to minimize the access time while maintaining battery life, e.g. by prioritizing the search in favor of BCCH carriers which have a high probability of belonging to an available and allowable PLMN” (Par. [0311]).
Jangid et al. (US 2020/0344694) discloses “In an example, as further indicated, when 5G probability is less say 0.5, then less frequent scan is performed. However, when 5G probability is high say 0.99, then normal or default network configured scan is performed” (Par. [0090]).
Sugiyama et al. (US 2025/0142493) discloses “Both power saving timers, e.g., the Extended TAU timer, T3412, and the Active Timer, T3324, start at end of connected mode. The duration of connected mode can vary and as a result, the expiration of these timers may occur in a NTN Gap Period, e.g., a period in which a wireless terminal has no coverage of the non-terrestrial network” (Par. [0033]).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSEPH NGHIA DINH whose telephone number is (571)272-7982. The examiner can normally be reached Mon. - Fri. 7:30AM-5PM.
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/J.N.D./Examiner, Art Unit 2641
/CHARLES N APPIAH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2641
Prosecution Insights